Not long ago, I received a message from one of my very good friends who has read most, if not all, of my reviews and other presentations over the years, and after a steady stream of largely unanswered pleading screeds from him, I decided that I was writing items that were a bit too wordy, tended to "go all tangential" on the reader, or, in a complete surprise to me, were a bit too, well, lengthy. Yes, it's hard to believe it, but it seems I've developed something of a reputation for being a bit, well, long-winded. And then there's that other not-so-good tendency I have of allowing myself to wander all over the place, sometimes relating my wanderings to the topic at hand, but, just as often as not, wandering around with no apparent direct ties into what I was hoping was the very clear subject of a given piece. I guess you could say that I was writing in much the same way as Tim Temple was speaking.

But now, largely as a result of that caring message from my friend, you are now reading the words of a newly-reformed man of letters, someone who has pledged to himself to use fewer words in his descriptions, eschew frequent ramblings down those formerly irresistable digressive paths, and come to the point in a quicker -- but no less creative -- manner. Sound good? Good! Let's get started with one of my newest acquisitions, the Hamilton Pan Europ automatic three-hand watch.

Nice shots, huh? Yeah, I think so, too.

The Pan Europ was originally introduced at Baselworld 2011, and it has undergone very few changes in the five years since then. So let's have ourselves a look at the always fun, always popular up-to-date technical data, shall we? Why, yes, let's:

And, oh, wasn't that all kinds of irresistable fun and mirth? Why, yes, it most assuredly was, don't you think? Why, sure you do!

APPEARANCE & COMFORT

How many ways can you spell-out "beautiful" and "colorful"? Because these are the two adjectives that come to mind when I think about this remarkable watch. Whether I'm wearing the amazingly comfortable black leather strap, with its incredibly bright red trim, or the tough-but-still-very-comfortable and brightly-colored nylon NATO-style strap, the watch retains its beautiful and colorful descriptors, despite presenting two very different looks with each. The only down-check here is the steel tip added to the nylon strap; while I'm sure it was designed with making it easier to mate strap and buckle together in mind, the tip's size is a bit too wide, making it virtually impossible to thread through the buckle without the tried and true "smash & bend" method of modification. Once this has been accomplished, though, you're on your way to whatever fun and adventure awaits you, with a stunningly beautiful and colorful watch on your wrist.

ENGINEERING

As can be seen in the above and below photographs, the Hamuilton H-30 movement, with its 80 hours of power reserve (due mainly to a recently-improved mainspring), presents a genuinely beautiful image. "Inspired" by the ETA 2824 movement (which, like Hamilton itself, is owned by Swatch Group), it performs flawlessly, with only a -1 second delta from test zone (that means it runs 1 second slow, for those of you in Rio Lindo and Alexandria) over a 168-hour test period. The rotor turn is both smooth and true, and the operation can best be described as, well, "silky." And that's not something you often hear under the Engineering heading.

SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

I like this watch. A LOT. Aw, heck, let's not be coy (wink-wink, nudge-nudge), I love this beautiful, colorful watch! It operates like we've all come to expect a piece from the good folks at Hamilton to operate: perfectly. The two vastly different looks provided by the leather and nylon straps makes buying it seem just like adding two new watches to your collection. And while the MSRP of $1195 USD may seem a bit on the steep side, there are currently a lot of competing markdowns out there, and I was able to get mine for right around a third of retail. Not bad for a Dead Guy, huh?

As always, thanks so much for stopping by and having a look at the new, "streamlined" Manner of Mort's Meanderings. Please be safe and well, and remember: it's never a good idea to follow the "Don't THINK, Just BUY" methodology.